Meeting platform for all

źródło: materiały prasowe

Interview | „The choice of Krakow as the host of the Congress confirms the strength of the city and the ambitions of its inhabitants. Krakow sets trends, draws its potential from the history and is modern and friendly," says Mayor Jacek Majchrowski.

Rz: A year ago, the Krakow Congress assessed the situation of local governments in the face of the challenges of the 21st century. The 4th edition of the Congress chose the motto "Local government as a strategy for the future" as its main theme. Will you be looking forward?

Jacek Majchrowski: The word strategy itself, in its definition, refers to the future, especially the distant one. No organisation and especially no self-government, can do without such a document. Apart from formal issues related to, for instance, applying for the EU funds, where having a strategy is a sine qua non condition for the application procedure, this document is, above all, necessary to create a broader perspective and new contexts for development. However, this long-term plan should have a fairly strong historical basis and it must not fail to assess the current situation.

Therefore, the fourth edition of the Congress will not only be about looking to the future, creating a vision and setting long-term goals. It will also be an attempt to make some sort of summary. Every sector represented at the event, starting from local government officials, through central government, business, and ending with education, should make a kind of examination of conscience. Nothing verifies dreams and plans as effectively as referring them to past events or current policies and programmes.

Every Congress participant will...